In other words, stop badgering her.
That’s a totally different smell, one which I detect now and then at work and which sometimes- depending on the closeness of the relationship with the coworker- results in a knowing look and/or a high-five. 
Is the employee in question good at his or her job?
Shows up on time, gets his work done in a timely manner, gets along with co-workers, etc?
In other words, stop being a tool.
I’m sorry to say there’s more to it than that. And I’m not being a tool. If she’s smoking pot, she’s a complete idiot to be doing it in this job, and knows perfectly well that she could be putting all of our jobs at risk.
That’s a lovely little world you live in dear, but it’s not the same one I inhabit.
My first thought was maybe she dabs some kind of essential oil on her or wears a diffuser with oil. Patchouli oil smells bad to me, not like skunk, but more like smelly feet. Valerian oil stinks too.
You don’t know anything about cannabis to the extent that you’re on an internet forum asking if a faint smell of skunk, outside of any other indications in their behavior, is proof that the person is high and needs to piss in a cup to satisfy your ignorance-based curiosity.
Maybe you need to grow up, honey.
Yes, no need to ferret it out.
LoL! Have a nice evening.
I’ll second the perfume idea - some perfumes react with some people’s chemistry. Back in the day when I wore perfumes, I knew better than to use musk based perfumes - my Mom couldn’t either - we both end up stinking of skunk so bad it was unbelievable! Maybe she’s wearing a perfume that’s reacting with her body chemistry and she isn’t aware of it? She may only be aware of the perfume scent itself. Just a thought.
If you’ve never smelled skunk consider yourself blessed. It is horrible. Can’t wait for August, it always seems to be the slow and stupid skunk season around here and nothing is quite like road-kill skunk roasting on pavement under a hot August sun. Thank Og, because it’s a crime even dead skunks smell like that.
Anyhow, saying pot smells “skunky” is like saying a perfume smells “musky”. Yes there is a “note” of that stench, but it’s not like pure skunk, the undiluted nightmare. You don’t want to rub your face in pure 100% musk, either.
Back to the OP - since there is a clearly an odor it seems you’re within reason to call her in for a talk. These sorts of things are always delicate, of course, but perhaps you can start off with “I don’t mean to embarrass you, but it’s been noticed that some days you have an odor about you… Sometimes people aren’t aware of having such a problem and I’m sorry for having to bring this up…”
Or you can just test her for pot - you’re allowed to do that for any reason or no reason at all, right?
It could be some dietary issue, some idiosyncratic reaction to a medication, there are some metabolic things that can cause bad body odor… or maybe she needs to leave her pot at home. In any case, if other people are talking then the odor is strong enough to be disruptive so you’re within reason to address the issue regardless of origin.
I’m all for the legalization of pot but if a coworker of mine was showing up at work reeking of the stuff I wouldn’t appreciate it. If the coworker’s smell could lead to my company losing the contract, and, by extension, cost me my job then I would have already said something to the coworker. If he or she showed up to work reeking of pot again I’d talk to our supervisor.
Or make one’s farts smell like dead skunk.
How hilarious that you can state in your OP, very explicitly, that you just need directions on this one thing and anything else others would like to discuss, they’re more than happy to do it… in their own thread. Yet, apparently reading comprehension, polite discourse and common courtesy can just go hang for some Dopers. Makes me laugh my ass off every time.
If there’s a suspicion, can it hurt to have them put on the drug test list? If you’re wrong, then they have nothing to worry about. If you’re right, you all have something to worry about. And if this person reports to you, your job is to protect the company.
My job does random drug tests, and tests if there are any accidents in the warehouse.
StG
Mostly correct. Placing her on the list just makes it look like her name came up next on the random. It is completely transparent for everyone except myself and the personnel/security staff I discuss it with. There is a chance though that her clearance comes under review, and the fact that her boss had requested a check would be shared, along with the clear or unclear results. It would be nice to believe that a clear result would then end the matter; I’m not sure I do believe that.
This is, of course, an “if” piled on the “if” stack on top of a “whether or not.” But I try to take into account the visible universe of possible unintended consequences before I act. I dearly hope that she has been doing the same.
Aww, she couldn’t handle the big-girl forum 'cause I questioned her ignorance. Bear in mind she has the power to ruin this employee’s professional career and is basing her suspicions on said ignorance.
But let’s all play nice in the sandbox and use quietly belittling insults, like adults.
No, only the employee has the power to ruin her career. Unless you think everybody in prison is only there because of those meddling cops.
And I’m not sure what you mean by “couldn’t handle the big-girl forum”, but I promise, you do not have the power to affect my self-esteem or upset me at all. My integrity is intact regardless of your opinion.
Skunk smell is not that bad unless it gets directly on you; I’ve noticed some beers that come in green bottles have a skunk smell to them. I kind of like those types of beers too.
As far as the employee smelling like an actual skunk? Don’t know how to handle that one in an official capacity, but I think I would start asking other people if they smell a skunk odor.
Just pretend you don’t know where the odor is coming from:
***Do you guys smell that? It smells like a skunk, doesn’t it? Someone go check outside! Where is that skunk smell coming from? Hey! It’s stronger over here! What is that? Can you smell it? You smell, right?
Is someone smoking pot outside? What is that smell?!?!***
Just flip out like that every time she is around, but never let on that you suspect it is her.
It will probably freak her out, and she will get rid of the weed.
Someone mentioned “what they do on their own time” – problem is, while 7am may technically be “their own time”, if they are using that time to get wasted before showing up at work at 8am, it kind of becomes not their own time. If they drink a quart bottle of wormwood with dinner, trip out, and wake the next morning. refreshed and invigorated, ready for work, no one should care. But that few hours before work is kind of another matter. If a job cannot tolerate stoned or drunk workers, the hours before you come in are not entirely your own.
That makes a lot of sense for the pilot that is about to fly the plane that I’m getting on, and the surgeon who is about to take my tonsils out, and the cop who responds to my house to chase away the bad guys. Yep, that makes perfect sense.
However, I’d really like to hang on to the liberal notion of, “it’s their time, they can spend it the way they want to.”
So let’s not point out obvious things like that, okay?
It’s a lot better for my free-wheeling hippie doctrine, if we just sweep pesky realism under the rug. 